The invention relates to a method for use in a multiplication process of plants, whereby an image is made of a plant, which is converted into electronic display data, which are processed in order to determine data with regard to the coordinates of growing points in the image of the plant, said data being used for cutting the growing points out of the plant.
The invention furthermore relates to a device for carrying out said method, said device comprising carrying means for a plant to be cut, image recording means, electronic processing means coupled to said image recording means, said processing means comprising a display device on which image data stored after an image of the plant has been recorded with the image recording means can be visualised, and cutting means connected to the electronic processing means for cutting the plant along a predetermined cutting path.
Such a method and device are known from the international Patent Applications WO 86/06576. By means of a CCD-camera a two-dimensional image is made of plant material present on a continuous belt. The image is digitized and stored in a microcomputer memory. Then the stored data are processed in such a manner that an image in the shape of a co-ordinate representation is produced, in which in particular converging branches are identified as possible junctions. Cutting locations determined by the microcomputer, which are located in the centre of the junctions, or which are present at a distance of 4 mm from the end of a branch. are cut through by means of a rotatable cutting blade which is movable in two directions.
The known method and device have a number of disadvantages. Already at the time of a first contact between the cutting blade and the generally very light plant there is a great risk that the plant is moved and that the actual position of the plant and the junction in particular no longer corresponds with the data stored in the microcomputer. A possible next cutting action will not be very effective in this manner. Moreover, the cutting may readily transmit disease germs from a diseased plant to a plant that is still healthy, which may result in a fast-spreading infection and a great deal of damage, since the infected plants can no longer be used for the culture of tissue in the multiplication process, and new basic plant material must be provided.
The purpose of the invention is to provide a method and a device for use in a multiplication process of plants, with which an effective increase in the production of cut plants can be achieved in that potential growing points in the plant are quickly recognized and cut out on the basis of elements of a plant image.